Volume 1: The Starting Chapter 20: Disciple

  "Uh, class monitor, am I the only one living here?" This long row of houses, it seems like there's no one else around for miles, and the thought of being alone in this place makes Xia Wenjie's heart feel a little scared.

  "You'll know once you go in." The lieutenant seemed unwilling to say another word to Xia Wenjie, he raised his arm, glanced at his watch, and without even a wave, turned and walked away.

  "Class monitor?" Xia Wenjie wanted to chase after him to ask clearly, but the lieutenant officer suddenly turned his head back, his eyes coldly staring at him, saying: "First, I am not your class monitor. Second, if you are dissatisfied with my arrangement, you can roll back home anytime."

  Xia Wenjie was stunned, did this sound like something a soldier would say? Was he still an officer? Just as he stood there tongue-tied and dazed, the lieutenant had already strode away.

  It wasn't until after a long while that Xia Wenjie finally came back to his senses. He first narrowed his eyes, then clenched his fists, and finally took several deep breaths in succession before calming down the intense emotions that were hard to contain.

  Yu Yao-hui once said that auditors should not be deserters, and Xia Wen-jie himself did not want to be a deserter either. Otherwise, he really wanted to turn around and leave now.

  He returned to the front of the dormitory door, gently pushed the door open, and the door was not locked. He raised his head and took a look inside. The space inside was extremely large, in a long strip shape, with no less than twenty upper and lower bunks double beds arranged inside.

  Inside the house, there were more than a dozen people, most of whom wore military uniforms. Looking at the epaulets on their shoulders, there were non-commissioned officers, commissioned officers, and even field-grade officers.

  As Xia Wenjie walked in, everyone in the dormitory focused their attention on him.

  When people saw his appearance clearly, their faces also showed a look of astonishment.

  It's no wonder they're surprised, Xia Wenjie looks like he's only sixteen or seventeen years old, and is dressed in a short-sleeved T-shirt, shorts, and a pair of tourist shoes, which makes him look more like a tourist than someone who has come for special training.

  Everyone in the house saw Xia Wenjie, who was also quite surprised. Before he could speak, a lieutenant stood up with a puzzled and incomprehensible expression, asking: "Little friend, are you here to participate in special training too?"

  As he spoke, he also glanced around at the surrounding crowd as if seeking confirmation.

  Others also stared at Xia Wenjie with their eyes fixed on him, and it was clear that his question was also the doubt of everyone present.

  Xia Wenjie blinked his eyes and said: "Special training? I don't know what special training, I only know that I signed up for the Lei Feng Training Camp."

  Crack! As soon as he finished speaking, the lieutenant colonel slapped his palm heavily and said indignantly: "What is this? How can children still be allowed to participate in special training? Isn't this a mess?"

  The dormitory was silent as a crow, and no one responded. People looked at each other in dismay, and finally they all stared at Xia Wenjie with wide eyes.

  Xia Wenjie had never been so focused on by others since he was a child, being stared at by everyone with unblinking eyes. He felt uncomfortable all over his body and quickly glanced around the dormitory, seeing that Zhang Xiaopu's lower bunk was empty, he walked over quickly.

  He had just sat down on the bed and hadn't even caught his breath when the lieutenant also followed over. He supported himself with one hand on the bedpost and the other on his waist, sizing up Xia Wenjie from head to toe before asking, "Young fellow, you're really here for special training? You didn't make a mistake?"

  He was teased by a little boy on his left and another on his right, which also made Xia Wenjie angry.

  He raised his head, facing the scrutinizing gaze of the lieutenant, and said with a smile: "I'm already 18 years old, not a kid, nor a little friend. Next time, don't call me that again. After all, we're all trainees here, now we can be considered classmates."

  That officer's old face suddenly turned red, was he being lectured by a young whippersnapper? His face couldn't take it, his eyebrows also stood up, before he could make another move, someone jumped down from the upper bunk of the adjacent bed, a woman.

  She walked to Xia Wenjie's bedside, first gave Wei Guan a cold glance and said: "People who talk too much, especially those who are not very good at talking, are indeed very annoying."

  After finishing speaking, she looked at Xia Wenjie and said with a smile: "Including you, we are exactly fifteen people. Now that everyone is here, let's introduce ourselves to each other."

  As she spoke, she glanced around at the crowd and said first: "My name is Tang Xiang, from a certain security department of... country."

  Her identity is sensitive and inconvenient to reveal, so I can only say it vaguely.

  He hadn't noticed that there were also women living in the dormitory, Xia Wenjie was somewhat surprised. Was this a co-ed dorm? This wasn't very likely, after all, this was a military camp!

  He subconsciously sized up this woman named Tang Xin. She was very young, looking like she was over twenty years old, with a simple and neat ponytail.

  She wore a white tank top on her upper body, camouflage military pants and a pair of black leather combat boots below, looking both slender and tall, exuding an air of elegance and poise.

  Her skin was a healthy wheat color, looking at her face, it couldn't be said to be beautiful, but the features were deep and the spirit was vigorous, presenting a different kind of beauty.

  As soon as she finished speaking, the lieutenant rushed towards her with a smile, seemingly not taking her previous sarcasm seriously, and introduced himself: "My name is Yao Jia, from a certain department of the Air Force..."

  He said with a smile, leaning in close to Tang Xiang, adding: "Currently unmarried."

  Tang Xin rolled her eyes and ignored him.

  "Shao Bing, Army Unit." A third-class officer sitting cross-legged on the upper bunk said expressionlessly.

  Xia Wenjie turned his head to look for the source of the sound, and what left the deepest impression on him about Shao Bing was her darkness, as dark as a lump of coal. If she wasn't born that way, then it must have been the result of years of exposure to the scorching sun.

  He was thinking in his heart, and another person smiled and said: "Hello everyone, I'm Zong Jiwen, a communications soldier."

  "My name is Sun Haipeng, I am from a special warfare brigade of a certain army."

  "Officer Zhou Tian, from Public Security."

  Everyone was making their own introductions. These people were mostly military personnel, and the rest were either from the public security or national security departments.

  Apart from Tang Xiang, there was another woman among them named Xia Feng.

  If we only talk about looks, Xiaofeng is much more beautiful than Tangxin. No need to mention temperament, just looking at her appearance is the kind of woman that makes people's eyes light up, and can be considered a standard beauty.

  However, her personality is not likable, being cold and arrogant. During self-introduction, she only reported her name and didn't mention anything else, with an attitude that rejects people from afar, which anyone can feel.

  After everyone finished their self-introductions, Tang Xin looked at Xia Wenjie and smiled: "Classmate, it's your turn now."

  Xia Wenjie came to himself, stood up straight and said to the crowd in a serious tone: "My name is Xia Wenjie, from... City No. Middle School, I just finished taking the college entrance exam and was about to attend police school."

  When others introduce themselves, they all say they are from a certain department or a certain university. Xia Wenjie learns and uses it immediately, claiming to be from a certain middle school.

  After listening to his introduction, Tang Xiang couldn't help but burst out laughing and said: "Just graduated from high school and came to participate in the Lei Feng training camp, this is too... Who signed you up? Who has the ability to let the Lei Feng training camp accept you?"

  She had a question that Xia Wenjie really couldn't answer. Yu YaoHui had entrusted him, and he couldn't reveal his identity to anyone.

  Just as he was thinking about how to answer, Yao Jia hummed and said: "No matter what the purpose of the person who signed you up is, or how capable they are, I think they have ulterior motives. You shouldn't be here either."

  Xia Wenjie slightly furrowed his brow, and Tang Xin let out a disapproving "tsk" beside him, saying: "How can you talk like that."

  "What I said is also a fact! If the Lei Feng training camp was so easy to get through, the elimination rate wouldn't be as high as 80%!"

  Yao Jia looked around and said, "There are fifteen of us in total. With an elimination rate of 80%, twelve people will be eliminated, leaving only three people behind. Do you think he will be one of the last three?"

  "Why can't he be one of the ones who stay? Special training hasn't even started yet, don't you think it's too early to give up on him?" Tang Xin said, speaking up for Xia Wenjie.

  People always like to sympathize with the weak, and women are even more so. In Tang Xiang's eyes, Xia Wenjie was undoubtedly the weakest among them.

  Yao Jia smiled and nodded, then shook her head and said: "You are from the Ministry of State Security, you don't understand the military, you don't know their situation, this is not your fault."

  As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed casually, saying: "Do you see that? Sun Haipeng, that's the famous banner soldier of the Special Warfare Brigade. He has received countless second-class and third-class merits. And that one, Shao Bing, is even more exaggerated. He is the king of soldiers in the entire military district. His shooting and fighting skills are all first-rate, he is a top-notch soldier among the elite troops. Today, everyone who can be here is either a banner soldier or a king of soldiers. If they were all eliminated and a high school graduate like you was allowed to stay, that would truly be a ghost story."

  Tang Xian snorted in disdain and said, "The things you mentioned about the banner men and the king of soldiers can only explain their excellent military quality, but as for other things, they don't represent anything."

  "What's the point of coming to Lei Feng Training Camp if military qualities are not solid?"

  "Who told you that special training is only for military qualities? There are many other contents of special training..."

  Listening to the two of them going back and forth, Xia Wenjie suddenly remembered something and carefully asked: "Excuse me, is this the Lei Feng training camp?"

  Tang Xian and Yao Jia chimed in unison: "No."

  "What?!" Xia Wenjie's mouth was agape with surprise, and after a long time, it turned out that this wasn't the Lei Feng training camp after all. Then what were these people brought here for? And where exactly was the Lei Feng training camp anyway?

  Not to mention that he was unclear about the specific location of Lei Feng's training camp, the other fourteen were also unclear.

  It wasn't until the next morning that Xia Wenjie, along with fourteen other trainees, was taken aboard a military transport plane that he realized this military camp was just a transit point, or rather, it was an assembly point for trainees, and who knows how far away the actual Lei Feng training camp was.

  Through conversations with fellow students, Xia Wenjie is now 100% certain that the Lei Feng training camp is not as simple and vulgar as Yu YaoHui said, but just a place to get a gold-plated certificate.